Hartlepool-based businesses land two major contracts for East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm supporting 330 jobs

12/04/2017

Hartlepool’s industrial sector has been boosted with the award of two major contracts to support the construction of ScottishPower Renewables East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm.

JDR, a leading supplier of subsea power cables to the global offshore energy industry, has been awarded a contract to supply intra-array cables for the project, and Tata Steel’s Hartlepool SAW Mill has secured an order to supply 4,400 tons of Structural Pipe for the turbine foundations.

The contracts will help to support around 200 jobs at JDR’s Greenland Road site, and approximately 130 employees at Tata Steel’s SAW Mill in Hartlepool.

JDR will deliver the offshore wind industry’s first commercial 66kV array cable project to date by Q1 2019. The company will design and manufacture 155km of array cables including end terminations. The innovative 66kV high voltage technology will enable increased power transmission back to shore from large, high powered offshore turbines over traditional 33kV cables.

East Anglia ONE is a £2.5billion offshore windfarm, which will generate enough renewable energy to power 500,000 homes per year. ScottishPower Renewables is on target to deliver more than 50% of UK content across the life of the project.

The project will be the most cost efficient offshore windfarm ever to confirm construction, and is leading the way to meet the UK Government's cost reduction targets. The price of £119 MWh was secured after a competitive auction process run by the Government, and is more than 15% lower than other offshore wind projects in construction elsewhere in the UK.

Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables, said: "The construction of major infrastructure projects, like East Anglia ONE, are critical to underpin the Government’s industrial strategy. We need reliable, low cost and low emission sources of electricity in the UK to power growth in all sectors.

“We are delighted that the project continues to support skilled jobs in the UK. Both JDR and Tata Steel are world leaders in their fields, and we are lucky that the North East of England has a highly skilled workforce that can help our project just a few miles down the coast.

"East Anglia ONE will deliver industry-leading levels of UK content, as well as being the best value offshore windfarm ever to go in to construction. We hope that further major contracts will be placed in the UK in the coming months, adding to the jobs and investment we are already creating in Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Hull, Belfast, Aberdeen and now Hartlepool."

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: “This commitment to sourcing UK products and supporting Hartlepool’s industrial supply chain companies is exactly what this Government wants to see more of, as we build on the UK’s strengths and capitalise on the opportunities that lay ahead.

“Our support for the renewables industry has helped attract £56bn of investment since 2012 in projects like this offshore wind farm, which will power around half a million homes.

“The high-skilled jobs this supports are an example of what we want to achieve through our ambitious Industrial Strategy, to deliver jobs and prosperity across Britain”.

Iain Wright MP, The Member of Parliament for Hartlepool and Chair of the House of Commons Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee, said: "This is excellent news for JDR Cables, a significant and leading manufacturing firm in the growing offshore wind sector supply chain, and the pipe mill at Tata Steel, a superb facility. The companies winning these two orders show the strength and flexibility of manufacturing in Hartlepool - based upon the quality of their products and the skills of their workforce. This is good news for British-based manufacturing and the local economy in Hartlepool, reflecting the strengths we have in this important and growing sector."

David Currie, CEO of JDR, comments: “We’re delighted to have been awarded the EA1 contract. Our technology group has successfully completed the development, testing and deployment of our 66kV range through 2015 and 2016 by working closely with customers and the industry – resulting in two major project awards in a matter of months.”

Andy Hill, Works Manager at Tata Steel’s SAW Mills, said: "We are delighted to be part of the supply chain team in support of the East Anglia ONE project and look forward to its successful conclusion.

“The growth of the offshore wind market in the UK is a real success story and at Tata Steel in Hartlepool we have developed the products and expertise to successfully deliver into this complex supply chain and help build local content supporting local jobs. We look forward to working with Scottish Power and the wider sector on delivering further projects of this kind into the future.”